Andre Cabrales

Right after my interview I headed out to Vegas... the drive took a very surprising turn when I stopped in some random little town to use the restroom.


That's when I met Edward. He introduced himself thusly, "You going to Vegas?"

Indeed I was!

Having his company made my drive exponentially better. We pretty much just shared our life stories, talked politics, philosophy, and whatever else came up.

This 18 year old young man grew up fast. Burglarizing houses, doing drugs (hard drugs... not the cool kind), and spent a good amount of time in jail.

Now a year clean, he decided to just hitch around the US.... living the dream! I want to do that so bad (and I hopefully will one day)... probably one of the most interesting individuals have ever come across.

Once we got in to Vegas, probably around 12:30 in the AM, we grabbed some Jack in the Box, then rolled down to the strip where I eventually dropped him off. Wish I had some pics of this kid... really hope he's safe.

THEN... it was off to kick it with my boy Ryan Guzman. We go back a bit and have kept in touch. He's recently transplanted from El Paso. A significant change in cities!  Not knocking EP though. I've had some good times in that city.

Not only is Vegas a convenient break in my drive to PHX, having a good friend to chill with makes it all the better.

For lunch, we went to this random spot my mom was telling me about. 8 dollar top sirloin dinner? 2 dollar microbrews (that weren't half bad)? Done... big time done! Ellis Island... go there for a cheap meal if you're in Vegas!


Went to Bill's Casino to watch BIG Elvis, but homie was off. We resorted to walking the strip a bit. Wasn't really feeling it... Vegas just felt so fake. The strip has this plastic feel to it... can't really explain it.

Another thing...


Freemont Street is AWESOME! This place at Mermaids Casino was so freakin rad... so bad for you though. Deep fried oreos, deep fried twinkies, chocolate covered banana, HUGE chili cheese dog.... I don't think I spent more than 8 bucks.

I also got my foodie fix.
http://slidinthru.com/
Excellent place. It actually surprised me how good this place was. Vegas doesn't really have a lot of culture... but places like this are changing things in LV.

Also got to chill with homegirl Monique Pichakzinczksiiii (spelling?). Her and one of her friends joined us at Slidin Thru.

It was cool to chill out with Ryan, talk about life, and share some laughs.  It was a great beginning to the road trip.

Next home.... PHX!

So... I just did one of the funnest experiences of my life!

From Tahoe to Vegas to Flagstaff to  PHX to San Diego to Santa Cruz and back to the Mountain Lodge.

I've decided to spread this out in to parts, starting with Tahoe.

The snow for March was crazy... STUPID in fact. It's definitely bad when people who have lived here for over a decade are awestruck and sick of the snow themselves. Lucky for me I've never lived in snow and have no other experiences to compare it to.

It's been a very interesting in Tahoe thus far. I love what I do and the people I have met have awesome.  The hardest part about my experience has been the isolation. I live about 20-30 minutes away from "town"... Truckee. Love that place, but if it's snowing, I'm not going anywhere.

I thought I would be able to handle being alone but did not expect it to be so intense. It is not a situation I would ever put myself in again.  I've kept in mind that the winter has been an abnormal one, but I have learned that I need community, need to be able to get out of the house.

On the other hand I have learned a heck of a lot about myself and a lot of priorities have changed for me.

Regardless, I've been looking forward to this road trip for about 3 months. First stop... Vegas!